In this greenhouse study we investigated the effects of soil compaction and moisture stress preconditioning on stomatal diffusive resistance (Rs), leaf water potential (&#936;1), and canopy minus air temperatures (&#916;T) of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L. ‘Ram I’). The compaction treatments were: (i) NC = no compaction, (ii) LT = long-term compaction over a 99-day period, and (iii) ST = short-term compaction for 9 days. The compactive treatment was equivalent to 720 J energy. Irrigation regimes were initiated at the same time as LT compaction and were: (i) well-watered = irrigation at &#8722;0.045 MPa and (ii) water-stressed = irrigation at &#8722;0.400 MPa. Ninety-nine days after initiation of preconditioning treatments, a dry-down cycle was started by watering each treatment to saturation. At this time, we monitored on a daily basis Rs, &#936;1, and &#916;T. Under low soil O2, Rs remained low for 2 days and then increased over a 5-day period for all treatments, even though &#936;1 did not change until the fifth day after irrigation (DAI). By DAI 9, Rs declined but then increased between DAI 10 to 13 as soil water potential (&#936;s) and &#936;1 decreased. As soil water deficits increased, plants preconditioned to LT compaction or water-stressed exhibited lower &#936;1 (0.2 to 0.4 MPa), higher Rs, and higher &#916; (1 to 2°C) compared with uncompacted or well-watered plants. Regardless of the cause for higher Rs (i.e., low soil O2, LT compaction or water-stress preconditioning), the result would be lower photosynthesis and greater high-temperature stress.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) govern many aspects of RNA metabolism, including pre-mRNA processing, transport, stability/decay and translation. Although relatively few plant RNA-binding proteins have been characterized genetically and biochemically, more than 200 RBP genes have been predicted in Arabidopsis and rice genomes, suggesting that they might serve specific plant functions. Besides their role in normal cellular functions, RBPs are emerging also as an interesting class of proteins involved in a wide range of post-transcriptional regulatory events that are important in providing plants with the ability to respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions. Here, we review the most recent results and evidence on the functional role of RBPs in plant adaptation to various unfavourable environmental conditions and their contribution to enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, with special emphasis on osmotic and temperature stress.

Salt stress effects on growth, osmotic adjustment, mineral and organic contents and soluble peroxidase activities were determined in roots and leaves of Atriplex halimus and their corresponding callus cultures. Low NaCl doses (150 mM) promoted shoot growth, corroborating the halophilic nature of this species; in these stress conditions, Na+ concentration markedly increased in the leaves indicating that salinity resistance was not associated with the ability of the plants to restrict sodium accumulation in the aerial part. Whole organs and their corresponding calli were able to cope with high NaCl doses but there was no clear correspondence between the physiological behaviour of cell culture and whole plant. For several physiological parameters (osmotic potential (&#936;s), mineral content, proline accumulation), roots were less affected by NaCl than leaves while both root and leaf calli behaved in the same way in response to salinity. NaCl-induced modifications of the recorded parameters are discussed in relation to the mechanisms of salinity resistance in this species. Evidence indicated the existence of a cellular basis for salinity resistance in A. halimus, but the expression of this cellular property at organ level appeared to be masked by the physiological complexity of the intact plant and the nature of the whole organ response was apparently determined primarily by regulation mechanisms assigned by the differentiated tissue organization.

Water availability is a major factor limiting plant productivity in both natural and agronomic systems. Identifying putative drought resistance traits in crops and their wild relatives may be useful for improving crops grown under water-limiting conditions. Here, we tested the expectation that a desert-dwelling sunflower species, Helianthus niveus ssp. tephrodes (TEPH) would exhibit root and leaf traits consistent with greater ability to avoid drought than cultivated sunflower H. annuus (ANN) in a common garden environment. We compared TEPH and ANN at both the seedling and mature stages under well-watered greenhouse conditions. For traits assessed at the seedling stage, TEPH required a longer time to reach a rooting depth of 30&#8198;cm than ANN, and the two species did not differ in root:total biomass ratio at 30&#8198;cm rooting depth, contrary to expectations. For traits assessed at the mature stage, TEPH had a higher instantaneous water use efficiency and photosynthetic rate on a leaf area basis, but a lower photosynthetic rate on a mass basis than ANN, likely due to TEPH having thicker, denser leaves. Contrary to expectations, ANN and TEPH did not differ in leaf instantaneous stomatal conductance, integrated water-use efficiency estimated from carbon isotope ratio, or nitrogen concentration. However, at both the seedling and mature stages, TEPH exhibited a lower normalized difference vegetative index than ANN, likely due to the presence of dense leaf pubescence that could reduce heat load and transpirational water loss under drought conditions. Thus, although TEPH root growth and biomass allocation traits under well-watered conditions do not appear to be promising for improvement of cultivated sunflower, TEPH leaf pubescence may be promising for breeding for drought-prone, high radiation environments.

Although the influence of temperature, particularly cold, on lipid metabolism is well established, previous studies have focused on long-term responses and have largely ignored the influence of other interacting environmental factors. Here, we present a time-resolved analysis of the early responses of the glycerolipidome of Arabidopsis thaliana plants exposed to various temperatures (4, 21 and 32 degrees C) and light intensities (darkness, 75, 150 and 400 mumol m(-2) s(-1)), including selected combinations. Using a UPLC/MS-based lipidomic platform, we reproducibly measured most glycerolipid species reported for Arabidopsis leaves, including the classes phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylinositol (PI) phosphatidylglycerol (PG), monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG). In addition to known lipids, we have identified previously unobserved compounds, such as 36-C PGs and eukaryotic phospholipids containing 16:3 acyl chains. Occurrence of these lipid species implies the action of new biochemical mechanisms. Exposition of Arabidopsis plants to various light and temperature regimes results in two major effects. The first is the dependence of the saturation level of PC and MGDG pools on light intensity, likely arising from light regulation of de novo fatty acid synthesis. The second concerns an immediate decrease in unsaturated species of PG at high-temperature conditions (32 degrees C), which could mark the first stages of adaptation to heat-stress conditions. Observed changes are discussed in the context of current knowledge, and new hypotheses have been formulated concerning the early stages of the plant response to changing light and temperature conditions.